Kicking practice aid

ABSTRACT

AN APPARATUS FOR FOOTBALL KICKING PRACTICE COMPRISES AN ELASTIC CORD AND A NON-ELASTIC CORD, THE NON-ELASTIC CORD BEING SECURED TO ATTACHING MEANS ON THE FOOTBALL AND THE ELASTIC CORD BEING SECURED TO A STAKE OR OTHER MEANS FOR RETAINING THE CORD SO THAT THE BALL WILL RETURN TO THE KICKER WHEN THE FOOTBALL IS KICKED.   D R A W I N G

O United States Patent 11 1 Schachner 5] Apr. 16, 1974 [5 KICKING PRACTICE AID 1,655,599 1/1928 Dolan, Jr 275/55 B [761 1119199 Dennis Sch-chm, 394 21233323; 1211322 5215,1353 95/111 Waterman, Prospect Heights, 111. v I H v 60070 :lj'; V FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 813,002 5/1959 Great Britain 273/58 C [22] 1971 1,315,425 12/1962 France 273/58 H [21] Appl. No: 128,450 21,210 2/1936 Australia.... 275 29 A 25,610 12/1935 Australia 273/200 R [52] [1.8. CI. 273/55 B, 273/95 A, 273/58 C, Primary Examiner Richard Pimkham Int Cl Assistant Examiner-Theatrice Brown I I'oa n I a v I 1 a I u n a v u u I I a 1 I I n u v u u v In A t K k 58 Field of Search 273/55 B, 95 A, 26 E, 97 R, t omey Donald J pmws 273/29 A, 58 C, A, 65 E, 65 EC, 65 ED;

272/77; 119/117-122 [57] ABSTRAQT An apparatus for football kicking practice comprises 5 References Cit an elastic cord and a non-elastic cord, the non-elastic UNITED STATES PATENTS cord bemg secured to attaching means on the football and the elastic cord being secured to a stake or other 3; means for retaining the cord 50 that the ball will ree 2,307,905 1/1943 Amentm turn to the klcker when the football is kicked.

733,024 7/1903 Gamble 1 Claim, 8 Drawing Figures 2,653,817 9/1953 Tebbetts, Jr 273/ A X PATENTEDAPR 16 m4 SHE] 1 0f 2 FIG. 3

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an apparatus for football kicking practice, and more particularly to a device whereby a football will automatically return to the kicker after it has been kicked without the necessity of retrieving .the ball.

.In the practice of kicking in the game of football it is desirable for a kicker to be able to kick the ball without the necessity of having another party retrieve the ball or having to retrieve the ball himself. Furthermore, it is desirable to perform the kicking in a somewhat confined space indoors when the weather will not permit practice outdoors. A device that accomplishes these objectives should be capable of being set up and taken down quickly and easily and take a minimum of space for transportation and storage but should also be capable of being adjusted to accommodate kickers of different strengths, and be adaptable to different typesof kicking, such as the type commonly known as punting" and place kicking." Lastly, it should be comprised of elements combined in such a manner that they will not foul or tangle when the ball is kicked.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above objectives are accomplished in this invention by the provision of tether means having a relatively short elastic cord attached to a restraining device such as a stake driven into the ground, and a relatively long non-elastic cord attached at one end thereof to the elastic cord, and at the other end thereof to the football. The non elastic cord is preferably at least five times as long as the elastic cord. The elastic cord, however, is adjustable to provide an even greater length ratio of non-elastic cord to elastic cord. Preferably at least one swivel is provided to prevent the cords from tangling or fouling due to the rotation of the football after it is kicked.

The invention is made adaptable to an ordinary football by the provision of novel insert means that may be securing in the string area of a football for attachment of the non-elastic cord to the football. Alternatively, insert means may be molded into a molded football. A novel stake that allows for easy and positive attachment of the elastic cord to the stake, and which may be used as a reel for the cord for transportation and storage when not in use is also provided.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus of my invention showing the football in position for a placekick" and the stake partially. driven into the ground.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a football, partially cut away to show the novel insert means for attaching the cord to the football.

FIG. 3 is a frontal view of the football and insert shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the insert means.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of an alternate form of insert means.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the tether cords, showing a swivel and the elastic cord-adjusting means.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view of a molded football showing insert means molded therein.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a football 10 which is attached by tether means, indicated generally by numeral 12, to a stake 14 which is partially driven into the ground, indicated by the letter G. The football 10 is shown in FIG. 1 in position on kicking tee 11 for a place-kick. The tether means 12 comprises a relatively short elastic cord 16 and a relatively long non-elastic cord 18. Cord 16 is preferably one-fourth inch in diameter nylon-covered elastic cord and cord 18 is preferably a No. 3 gauge multifilament propylene woven cord.

The non-elastic cord 18 is securely attached to the football 10 by plastic insert means 20 having a base 22 and a ring 24 surrounding an aperture 26 through which non-elastic cord 18 may be threaded and secured. Insert means, in turn is secured to the football 10 by placing the base 22 between inner bladder 28 and outer covering 30 before the ball 10 is infalted and allowing the ring 24 to protrude through the opening 32 in outer cover 30. The base 22 of insert 20 may be glued to the inner bladder 28. The opening is then laced closed by threading strings 34 through opposing rows of apertures 36 which line the opening 32 in the outer covering 30. The ball 10 is then inflated and the base 22 of insert 20 is firmly trapped between the inner bladder 28 and outer covering 40 of football 10.

Elastic cord 16 and non-elastic cord 18 are attached to each other by suitable means such as snaffle hook 38. Disposed between cords l6 and 18 is swivel 40 which prevents twisting of the cords due to rotation of the ball when it is kicked. Elastic cord 16 is secured to the stake 14 by a shock-cord hook 42 which makes cord 16 easily adjustable in length.

The novel stack comprises a post 44, one end of i which is driven into the ground G, the other end of which supports an eyelet 46 to which the shock cord hook 42 is attached. A leg 48 depends downwardly from the eyelet 46 substantially parallel to and in its normal position immediately adjacent a post 44. Leg 48 merges into a foot portion which extends downwardly and diagonally outwardly from the bottom of leg 48. The particular arrangement of the foot 50 serves to functions: First, when the stake is driven into the ground it serves as a strengthening member as it partially enters same. Secondly, it defines, along with the eyelet 46 a reel 52 upon which the tether cord may be conveniently wound when the device is not in use. Another advantageous feature of the stake is that the leg 48 may be pulled away from post 44 slightly to allow hook 42 or other fastening means to be easily slipped along let 48 onto eyelet 46.

In FIG. 5 there is shown an alternate insert 54 having a base 56 and a ring 58 defining an aperture 60. Base 56 of the insert 54 is lined with parallel rows of apertures 62 which are spaced to correspond to and align with opposing rows of apertures 36 lining the opening 32 in the oute covering of the football 10. To secure this insert 54 to football 10 the strings 34 are threaded through apertures 62 in the insert when the ball is laced.

When the use of a molded football is contemplated, asshown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the cord attaching means includes a recess 64 in the ball 10 and a rib 66 extending across the recess 64 substantially flush with the contour of the surface of the footgall so that no part of the attaching means extends outwardly from the surface of the football. An obvious advantage of this version is the ready interchangeable use of the ball as a part of the apparatus and in an ordinary manner. While the recess and rib arrangement is shown on the side of the football 10, it may also be provided at the end of the ball to allow the apparatus to be used for passing as well as kicking.

In a molded football an insert such as insert may also be molded into the ball with the ring 24 protruding as in the case of the laced ball (not shown).

In operation, the ball 10 is simply kicked, either off a tee 11 as shown in FIG. 1, or punted, with the tether means 12 lying loosely on the ground. When the tether becomes fully extended by the flight of the ball, the elastic cord 16 will stretch and snap back abruptly, causing the ball to return to the kicker.

Most satisfactory results are obtained by using an elastic cord about three feet long and a non-elastic cord about 30 to 50 feet long, depending on the strength of the kicker. The tether should be long enough to prevent the ball from returning to the kicker too abruptly, and yet must not be too long for a kicker not to be able to fully extend the cord and sufficiently stretch the elastic cord 16 to cause the ball to snap back to the kicker. With a given length of non-elastic cord, the amount of snap-back can be varied for different strengths of kickers by merely adjusting the length of the elastic cord 16. The shorter the elastic cord, the greater the snap-back. As shown in FIG. 6, the elastic cord may be shortened by merely sliding the cord through the loops in the shock cord hook.

For indoor use or on artifical turf it would obviously not be feasible or desirable to drive a stackinto the playing surface. For such use a bag filled with water or other heavy material may be used as the restraining means instead of a stake.

It should be emphasized that the elastic cord 16 is attached to the stake 14 or other anchoring means and not to the ball. By so arranging the cords, the snapback" force of the elastic cord 16 acts on the nonelastic cord 18 as well as on the ball 10 and thereby insures more efficient return of the ball to the kicker.

While the longer cord 18 has been referred to as non-elastic," it should be recognized that virtually all cords will stretch somewhat when they are used to abruptly arrest the movement of a flying object.

To enable the non-elastic cord 18 to be more easily attached to the football, and to further ensure against twisting of the tether there may be provided a short leader cord (not shown) about a foot or so long and attached to the ring 24 of the insert 20, and another swivel (the same as swivel 40) between the leader cord and the non-elastic cord. A second snaffle hook (the same as hook 40) may also be provided to enable the non-elastic cord to be easily snapped onto a loop in the leader cord in the same manner that the elastic cord is attached to the non-elastic cord as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6.

While there has been described a preferred form of kicking apparatus in accordance with the invention, it will be appreciated that many changes. and modifications may be made therein without, however, departing from the essential spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for football kicking practice comprising a football; tether means having an elastic cord and a non-elastic cord, said non-elastic cord being adapted to be attached at one end thereof to said football and at the other end thereof to one end of said elastic cord; a stake for restraining the other end of said elastic cord when said football'is kicked, means for attaching said non-elastic cord to said football, said stake comprising a post, one end of which is driven into the ground, the other end of which supports an eyelet to which said elastic cord is attached, a leg depending downwardly from said eyelet parallel to said post, and a foot portion extending diagonally outwardly from said leg portion, said eyelet and said foot portion defining a reel upon which said cords may be wound when said apparatus is not in use, and said leg being slightly resilient to allow one end of said elastic cord to be easily slid over said leg onto said eyelet to securely attach said tether means to said stake. 

